The purpose of this study was to describe and explain in-service Japanese elementary classroom teachers' experiences with parental involvement of immigrant parents as it pertains to physical education (PE). The study was framed using the theory of teacher development. This study used a descriptive-qualitative methodology and an explanatory case…

Food selectivity in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a serious issue in special needs schools, and special education teachers face various difficulties in their management of the problem. The aim of this study is to investigate the difficulties that special education teachers face in managing food selectivity in children with ASD.…

This study examines the effectiveness of a simultaneous intervention in kindergarten and home to improve ball skills in children. Two kindergartens in Ibaraki, Japan, were divided into intervention (N = 98, mean age = 5.5 [0.6] years) and control groups (N = 88, mean age = 5.6 [0.6] years). The intervention was for 4 weeks. Parents received emails…

Home-school partnership is key to students' success at schools. Japanese schools have attempted to invite families to participate in school educational activities. However, these efforts are embedded into Japanese school cultures and were not studied empirically. This study aimed to explore teachers' attitudes and actions toward home-school…

This article examines emotionally challenging expectations in the relationships beginning teachers have with students' parents. The data consist of narrative interviews with 17 Japanese beginning teachers. Due to strong cultural and social norms prescribing appropriate social interactions, Japanese teachers have little leeway in negotiating…

The purpose of this study was to describe and explain Japanese generalist elementary teachers' experiences teaching physical education (PE) to Japanese language learner (JLL) children in public schools in Japan. Participants were seven public elementary school teachers (two females and five males) who had experience teaching JLL children. Data…

This article focuses on extended education supported by parents and the community at school and its impacts on schoolteachers' perceptions towards their work in Japan. A national survey using random sampling on elementary schoolteachers was conducted by the author; the results were used to analyze the relationships between the following variables:…

The transition to formal education is a critical transition in children's lives that has importance for socio-emotional and behavioral functioning. In the transition process, teachers are key players who work intensively with children and their families. This article focuses on teachers' perceptions of children´s socio-emotional behavior during…

Role functions and interpersonal perceptions of parents and preschool teachers in Japan and the United States were explored. Locus of responsibility and behavioral variables were defined. Multivariate analyses of variance showed a significant main effect for culture and strong interaction effects between culture and the derived dimensions.…

Teachers in Japan are no longer held in high esteem simply because of their position in the Confucian hierarchy of status and authority. Gone is the time when the word of the sensei would bring silence and order to a classroom. Ironically, the fruits of a postwar first-world nation--increased parental education, material affluence, and a…